Paper short abstract:

Focusing on the data on aging and disability, we will present the findings from 4 focus groups conducted with persons with disability and carers residing in Ugandan refugee settlements. The Africanizing (Schumaker 2001) of the concepts of aging and disability in the Global South will be discussed.

Paper long abstract:

The adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (2006) has reaffirmed the longstanding need for studying disabilities as part of the displacement experience within the humanitarian intellectual discourse. With 12 million displaced persons with disability (UNHCR2022), many of whom are elderly or aging, researching the experiences of said persons and their support structures within refugee settlements is increasingly important. Drawing from a wider exploratory study of the social support infrastructures that exist within Ugandan gazetted refugee settlements for (aging) persons with disability, this paper will present the preliminary findings from four focus groups conducted with persons with disability (2x10-12 members) and carers (2x10-12 members) residing in Ugandan Nakivale and Rwamwanja settlements. With the fieldwork taking place between Feb-June 2024, the learnings from Ugandan gazetted settlements will be presented with an aim [1] to identify possible pathways to commence a dialogue with the relevant policy makers for improvement of the social support infrastructures, and [2] to strengthen the ‘Africanized’ (Schumaker, 2001) conceptualisation of both aging and disability in the Global South.